RHIANNON GIDDENS ‘There Is No Other’ – CD

Description

Over the past two years, Rhiannon Giddens has emerged as one of American music’s most vitally prolific artists. Her second and most recent solo album, There Is No Other, is a collaborative concept LP of sorts with Italian jazz multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi. The album is a musical bridge-building project, with the 42 year-old North Carolinian singer merging her excellent banjo playing with Turrisi, who draws on polyglot North African, Middle Eastern and Italian traditions in his accompaniment.

Many of the songs on There Is No Other are structurally simple but most of the arrangements are compellingly imaginative. The record showcases her own singular musical interests, which encompass everything from classical music to 19th century minstrelsy to contemporary country and folk-roots. With its mix of originals, covers and traditional songs, it encompasses the disparate strands of her heritage like nothing before.

This is a magical listen from as tight a partnership as you’ll hear. As the title implies, it’s incomparable. Especially for an album recorded in only five days, it wallops with impact. Giddens is going supernova, and it’s a blistering thing.